Installing Dropbox on 64 bit Kubuntu 9.10 (KDE4.3)

Just did a clean reinstall on my desktop and laptop. Syncing documents between different computers can be a pain (and sometimes I need to grab the files without my computer), so I decided to use the Dropbox service to hold my documents. Like any other service... PLEASE DO BACKUPS other than relying solely on the service, though Dropbox hasn't failed me yet.

If you haven't got an account with Dropbox yet, feel free to use this referral link. I'll get more space. :3 Now for the guide proper:



The default Dropbox package for Ubuntu pulls in stuff from Gnome (nautilus), which I don't really need for my Kubuntu desktop. So here's what a did, based on this guide.

Open the command line (konsole, terminal) to download the dropbox for your platform. I'm using the 64 bit version. If you are using 32bit, just leave the _86 out.

$ wget -O dropbox.tar.gz http://www.getdropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86_64

Extract the file

$ tar zxof dropbox.tar.gz

If necessary, say the files were not extracted to your home directory,

$ mv .dropbox-dist ~/.dropbox-dist

Basic installation is done, so I will 1) run it, and 2) make Dropbox start when my desktop starts.

1) Run Dropbox

$ ~/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd &

You should see the Dropbox icon in the system tray... and so configure it accordingly. ;)

2) Under (KDE) System Settings > Advance (tab) > Autostart.
Click on "Add Program", and type in the full path. In my case it's

/home/ensheng/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd

Also check the box for "Run in terminal". Ok, done. Try rebooting and see if the Dropbox starts automatically.. it should. Enjoy. ;)